Mitsu Yashima

Mitsu Yashima
Mitsu Yashima in 1975
Native name	八島 光
Born	Tomoe Sasako
Died	December 7, 1988
Occupation	Children's book author and artist
Spouse(s)	Taro Yashima
Children	Makoto Iwamatsu

Mitsu Yashima (八島 光, Yashima Mitsu), whose real name was Tomoe Sasako (笹子 智江, Sasako Tomoe), was a Japanese children's book author.

World War II and later years

Mitsu was the daughter of a shipbuilding company executive.^[1] She and her husband, Atsushi, were both thrown in jail for their protests against the Japanese government.^[2] They went to America to study art in 1939, leaving behind their son, Makoto Iwamatsu with relatives. When World War II broke out, Tomoe, along with her husband, joined the U.S war effort. She adopted the pseudonym Mitsu Yashima, and Atsushi the pseudonym Taro Yashima, to protect their son who was still in Japan. Mitsu Yashima made broadcasts to Japanese women in order to damage their wartime morale. She and Taro went on to collaborate on a children's book, Momo's Kitten, but eventually they separated. Mitsu died at the age of 80 on December 7, 1988.^[1]

See also

• Japanese dissidence during the Shōwa period

References